Google and Yelp Launch Mobile ROI Calculators. Why Do We Care?

No matter who your clients are and what kind of content you use to promote them, a growing number of people will read it on mobile. That’s why Google‘s release of its first “mobile ROI calculator” is a big deal. It’s true that the “Full Value of Mobile” calculator is more directly relevant to marketers and business owners than PR pros (especially since it’s primarily concerned with Google Ads or AdWords). But it’s going to be very important for your clients’ brands.

Why? Because it will help them better understand exactly how their mobile ads influence sales — and it will help client teams use real-world data to demonstrate the success of Google ads and cost-per-action (CPA) campaigns. According to Google’s blog post/announcement, a recent study showed that nearly 3 in 10 web searches lead consumers to visit a store, contact a business or make a purchase. So this is a big deal to any client who sells products online.

If you have any clients in the food/brick and mortar retail sectors, Yelp‘s announcement should be of interest as well: the site’s “revenue estimator” will show the owners of small businesses how many “leads” come directly from their Yelp pages and related promo campaigns — and make estimates as to the ultimate dollar value of that traffic.

So will we be using either of these tools? What effect might they have on our relationships with clients?